Brown Gallops to the USEA Gold Cup Title


Contributed by Leslie Mintz, USEA Staff For the first time in history, the Adequan USEA Gold Cup


Final held August 30 – September 3, was run with cross-country as the last phase. When severe weather hit the USEA American Eventing Championships (AEC) presented by Land Rover and Nutrena® in Mill Spring, N.C. earlier in the week, the cross-coun- try phase had to be postponed from Friday afternoon to Sunday morning due to the emergency vehicle access and allowing the footing time to dry out. This put a new twist on the Final as the top 10 pairs ran in reverse order of standing on cross-country. Following a double clear show jumping round under the lights


in the George Morris Arena at the Tryon International Equestrian Center (TIEC), Marilyn Little and RF Scandalous were still sitting on top of the leaderboard and as a result were the last to set out on cross-country. When Little fell from the 12-year-old Oldenburg mare (Carry Gold x Richardia) owned by Jacqueline Mars, Robin Parsky, and Phoebe & Michael Manders, at fence 16, The Stick Pile, the door was opened for a new Champion. Matthew Brown was sitting in fifth with BCF Belicoso, an


11-year-old Irish Sport Horse (Lux Z x Catcher Berezina) owned by the Blossom Creek Foundation before leaving the start box on cross-country. However, time was proving to be tight on Capt. Mark Phillips’ cross-country track, which ran at the White Oak property, so when Brown earned one of only three double clear he


holiday GIFT IDEA Anniversary Assortment with Keepsake Ornament


Eventing


Matt Brown accepts $20,000 from Mark Bellissimo, Rob Burk, Sharon Decker, Carol Kozlowski and Allyn Mann.


climbed up the ranks to the top spot, and officially earned the title of Adequan USEA Gold Cup Champion.


“I felt like Belicoso really stepped up in all three phases and is constantly improving, so I’m really happy with him,” said Brown. For his win in the Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series, Brown took home $20,000, the lionshare of the $40,000 prize money. He was also the recipient of the Jack LeGoff trophy as winner of the USEF Open Horse Trials National Championship.


It was a bit of déjà vu for Doug Payne and his stalwart partner, Vandiver.


The 13-year-old Trakehner gelding (Windfall II x Visions of Grandeur) owned by Debi Crawley, Doug and Jessica Payne, has a bit of “always the bridesmaid, never the bride” syndrome. The pair came in second last year and second at The Fork CIC3* this spring.


Jennie Brannigan and her longtime partner, Cambalda, accrued 4.8 time penalties on cross-country to drop down to third place. While Brannigan has had enormous success this week at the AEC, she had a disadvantage today because she broke her hand last night after jamming it into the neck pf Nina Gardner’s 15-year-old Irish Sport Horse (Balda Beau x Cathys Lady) during show jump warm-up. The Adequan USEA Gold Cup was a part of a record-breaking AEC.


“It’s hard to explain the feeling of the American Eventing Championships when you’re not here, but I think when you watch the smiles of the kids and the pros, and everybody across the board, it’s a really special experience, and I think the word is getting out. With 755 starters, that’s almost a hundred more than we had last year, and last year was the largest horse trials in the United States by starters in history,” explained USEA CEO, Rob Burk. For full results visit www.useventing.com. w


collected her 3rd NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity NP Title when she marked a composite score of 650 on Hat Six Keep Sparkin to win $20,359.


A beautiful handcrafted ornament is tucked inside a gorgeous tiered assortment of Dark Horse Chocolates for a stunning presentation! Handmade with horseshoe nails, no two orna- ments are exactly the same, making this a unique gift that will be treasured for years to come. Sure to delight any horse lover! Ornament created by The Bent Nail. To order call Toll Free 800.243.2115 or order online at harborsweets.com.w


November 2017 SouthWest Horse Trader 11 Tammy Jo Hays


USEA/Leslie Mintz Photo


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24